Now... there are MANY chaplets and prayers that have certain promises and I was wondering if it was imprimatur (widely circulated), then is it approved by the church?

One such chaplet is the chaplet of the Precious Blood...

"1.I promise to protect any person who devoutly prays this Chaplet against evil attacks.

2.I will guard his five senses.

3.I will protect him from sudden death.

4.Twelve hours before his death, he will drink
My Precious Blood and eat My Body.

5.Twenty-four hours before his death, I will show him my five wounds that he may feel a deep contrition for all his sins and have a perfect knowledge of them.

6.Any person who makes a novena with it will get their intentions. His prayer will be answered.

7.I will perform many wonderful miracles through it.

8.Through it, I will destroy many secret societies and set free many souls in bondage, by My mercy.

9.Through it, I will save many souls from Purgatory.

10.I will teach him My way, he who honors My Precious Blood through this Chaplet.

11.I will have mercy on them who have mercy on My Precious Wounds and Blood.

12.Whoever teaches this prayer to another person will have an indulgence of four years. "

Another one is the prayer to the Shoulder Wound of Christ..

"Imprimatur: Thomas D. Beven, Bishop of Springfield

It is related in the annals of Clairvaux that St. Bernard asked our Lord which was His greatest unrecorded suffering, and Our Lord answered: "I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound, which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men. Honor this wound with thy devotion, and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit. And in regard to all those who shall venerate this Wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins, and will no longer remember their mortal sins."

Thoughts?

Let's face it... some of these promises are very strong incentives for praying some of these chaplets / prayers.

It is my understanding that an imprimatur is issued by the diocesan bishop of the place where the book or other written material is published. It merely means that the diocesan bishop gives his approval for the book to be published. A nihil obstat indicated that the book does not contain anything "contrary to faith or morals."
Neither an imprimatur nor a nihil obstat should NOT be viewed as the Universal Church, the diocesan church nor the diocesan bishop actually endorsing or necessarily being in full agreement with the contents of the book.
It is possible for one diocesan bishop to give an imprimatur and nihil obstat on a particular book and for another bishop or say the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome to determine later that the book is objectionable in parts or in its entirety.

So why publish in the first place if it creates such confusion? I thought all Catholics were supposed to agree on everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonThePilgrim

It is my understanding that an imprimatur is issued by the diocesan bishop of the place where the book or other written material is published. It merely means that the diocesan bishop gives his approval for the book to be published. A nihil obstat indicated that the book does not contain anything "contrary to faith or morals."
Neither an imprimatur nor a nihil obstat should NOT be viewed as the Universal Church, the diocesan church nor the diocesan bishop actually endorsing or necessarily being in full agreement with the contents of the book.
It is possible for one diocesan bishop to give an imprimatur and nihil obstat on a particular book and for another bishop or say the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome to determine later that the book is objectionable in parts or in its entirety.

I would be skeptical whether that Imprimatur for the Chaplet of the Precious Blood is true and valid. You might call the chancery of the diocese in question and ask them if they ever issued an Imprimatur for these prayers and whether they have the exact text on file that they can furnish to you. Some of those promises sound too outlandish for approval.

Imprimatur ("it shall be printed") simply means that the content has been found not to conflict with Church teaching, and is approved to be published.

ICXC NIKA

Please note.

The other half is this extremely interesting statement -- which appears in conjunction with the proper Nihil obstat and Imprimatur.

The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

Our Lord instructed the apostles to go and teach all nations and the Church teaches us like a mother. Open debate is fine as long as our will is subject to the Churches teachings. I believe this is an essential difference between Catholicism and Protestantism.

So why publish in the first place if it creates such confusion? I thought all Catholics were supposed to agree on everything.

There is no such thing that ALL Catholics are to agree on EVERYTHING. That just isn't rational or healthy. Catholics are supposed to agree on the fundamentals, the basics of our faith -- these are found in the Creed and in the Catechism. But the questioner was asking about imprimaturs which covers published materials such as published materials (prayer books, prayer cards, books on various religious themes such as the life of a saint, etc.).

Published materials of any kind can be controversial or be open to different persons having different opinions. One example are the writings of St. Faustina. Pope Pius XII during his pontificate approved of the writings and the Divine Mercy devotion. After Pius' death, the cardinal who headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had the writings put on the Index (banned writings) because he (the cardinal) did not approve of the writings nor of the Divine Mercy devotion. It was only just before Pope John Paul II's election in 1978 that Faustina's writings came off the Index.

The Church, given teaching authority by Christ and as the conduit for fullness of Truth on this earth, has the obligation to preserve Her sheep from deviations from the Truth and to to guarantee them the "objective possibility of professing the true faith without error" (Catechism, No. 890). Because of this, the Bishops will look at books published by Catholics on Catholic matters in their dioceses, giving them their "okay" if nothing therein is found to be contrary to the Faith (relevant Canon Law: "Title IV: The Means of Social Communication," ¶ 822-832)

The procedure works like this: when a Catholic writes a book on faith, morals, theology, liturgy, books on prayer, editions of Sacred Scripture, etc., he will submit his manuscript to his diocese's Censor. If the Censor finds no problem with it, he will give it his stamp, which reads "Nihil Obstat," or "nothing stands in the way." He then sends it to the Bishop for his review. If the Bishop finds nothing objectionable, he gives the book his "Imprimatur" which means, "let it be printed."

If the Catholic writing the book is a member of a religious order, the manuscript is first sent to his religious superior before it is sent to the Censor and Bishop. If the religious superior finds no impediment to publication, he will give the book his stamp of "Imprimi Potest," which means "it can be printed."

Nowadays, after the Imprimatur, you might see these words:

The "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur agree with the content, opinions or statements expressed.

Please know that the presence of an Imprimatur does not mean that a book is an official text of the Church. It doesn't make the book the equivalent of an encyclical, say. It's not the approval of the work by the Pope or a dogmatic Council, and it's not a stamp of infallibility. It doesn't even mean that everything in the book is accurate, only that there is nothing in it that contradicts Catholic dogma. But, while occasionally a book sneaks through and its Imprimatur later recalled, this procedure is an important way for Catholics to increase their chances of staying error-free with regard to doctrine. Sadly, because of the triumph of modernsists and liberals in the human aspect of the Church since the Second Vatican Council, books which could well contain a watered-down theology, a warped view of History, etc. now do receive the "Imprimatur."

Bottom line: When buying books on religious and spiritual matters, seek out those books written before Vatican II and which have the "Imprimatur," or those books which are known to be written by solidly orthodox traditional Catholics. Otherwise, be wary and take the book with a grain of salt. And, always, if you come across a book that says horrific things about the Church, Her teachings, or Her history, read the traditional Catholic point of view and dig up objective resources. There's a lot of lying going on out there, folks.

SUMMARY

Religious Superior's stamp: IMPRIMI POTEST "it can be printed"

Censor's stamp: NIHIL OBSTAT "nothing stands in the way"

Bishop's stamp: IMPRIMATUR "let it be printed"

__________________
"Sacrifice for sinners and repeat many times, especially when you make a sacrifice: O my Jesus, this is out of love for you, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary!"